


5 Times Kissed

by rayeliann



Series: Two Shepards AU [3]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Fluff, Kisses, Tropes, Two Shepards AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-19
Updated: 2015-03-19
Packaged: 2018-03-18 13:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3571319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rayeliann/pseuds/rayeliann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 short kisses for Eleri and Joe</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times Kissed

**ADRENALINE**  

The mission had gone to hell - like it always did. The horrid mechanics of that ~~flying~~ hopping deathtrap should have been the first sign. Project Firewalker they’d called it, and now Eleri knew why.   

Joe and Eleri raced back to the Cerberus shuttle, hearts pounding, as everything around them fell into boiling magma. The research base crumbled around them, and for a split second, Eleri felt the ground fall away beneath her feet.

In the same moment, Joe had grabbed her hard by the arms, pulling her into the shuttle, her legs still flailing, feet searching for stable ground. They found the solid floor of the shuttle, sending her stumbling into Joe, hands scrabbling at the his chest frantically.  

They crashed into the opposite wall with a force the pushed the breath right out of Eleri’s chest. She heard her own sharp exhalation echo in Joe, who was still gripping her arms tight.  As if by an afterthought, Joe released her, and Eleri stumbled back as the shuttle bucked wildly in the atmosphere over the volcanic planet. She was panting from the sprint to the shuttle and adrenaline pumped wildly through her veins. She was drunk on it, a giddy feeling fogging up her thoughts, and laughter bubbling in her chest.

“We’re alive!” Eleri exclaimed, half laughing as she bumped her palms against the chest piece of his hardsuit. There was something wonderfully solid and certain about Joe.   

Joe inhaled, like he was going to reply, but his words were lost in surprise as Eleri’s hands took hold of his armor, pulling him forward, catching his mouth in a kiss. 

* * *

 

 

**CARPE DIEM**

Joe tasted of Ryncol, bitter and strong enough to fell a krogan. The traces of the sharp intoxicant made Eleri’s lips tingle, sending her head swimming. Her ears were ringing with the noise of the party around them, but she could not longer distinguish voices from one another. If escaping a Project Base full of indoctrinated scientists wasn’t a reason to celebrate — what was?   

Joe was steady and certain, the hand that gripped at her waist never wavered or shook, strong fingers digging in to her hip as he held her against him. Eleri felt the edge of the Normandy’s bar digging into her back as Joe pressed her against it, but she could not bring herself to care. They would be heading for the Omega 4 Relay soon, and Eleri meant to seize every moment of her life while she still could.  

* * *

 

 

**WHERE DO WE STAND ?**

Sparring with Joe had gotten… _interesting_ after their incarceration in Alliance quarantine. He hadn’t said a thing about ‘them’ since returning to the Normandy. Not that there had been time between leaving Earth, the encounter on Mars… and Kaidan.  

Eleri wasn’t one to push, at least not on this. But not knowing where she stood with Joe was frustrating her to no end. Things had gotten tense between them - at least, from Eleri’s end it had felt that way. It was hard to tell what Joe was thinking most of the time, even for her. His monosyllabic answers were gruff, but they were always gruff. Their little sparring sessions at least provided her with an outlet for her frustrations, a target. She bit back a growl, concentrating on what she was doing, paying attention to reading his movements, the little things that gave him away. _Focus._   

So _maybe_ she threw her punches a little harder, maybe she felt the warm hum of satisfaction in her flushed cheeks when she tossed Joe back, hard onto the floor. _Maybe_ she’d destroyed a few shipping containers with her overzealous biotics.   Joe’s eyes widened ever so slightly, his usually measured countenance betraying mild alarm as a shipping container crunched, metal buckling from the force of Eleri’s attack.  

“El… something wrong?” He asked in even tones, countering her attack and tossing her backwards, with a hard strike to her stomach.  

“ _No._ ” She huffed in a biting tone, her usually grey eyes glittering blue as biotics crackled down her arm in a roaring shockwave that sent more crates flying. The distraction let her sweep Joe’s legs from under him, tossing him to the floor, hard. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and her cheeks flared red from her rising temper and the exertion.   

Something pulled her down, as Joe fell, and when Eleri hit the floor, she found him looming over her, strong arms on either side of her, and she knew she’d been beaten again. Her eyes flashed dangerously, and a storm of curses was swallowed by Joe’s lips pressing hard and hungry against hers. Eleri’s anger fell away as something fluttered behind her ribcage. Her hands found fistfuls of his shirt and collar as she pulled him down on top of her.   

* * *

 

**A KISS FOR EVERY QUOTE**

Joe’s fingers traced the letters in one of Eleri’s tattoos absently as his mind wandered. Every few words, he bowed his head, brushing a kiss over the text and sending a shiver over Eleri’s skin. Dark black letters marched over her hipbone, following the curve of her body as they disappeared into the waistband of her pajama shorts. A sharp red scar cut through the writing, glowing angrily.

Of course, Joe had no objections to Eleri’s preference for lying about in little more than her underwear. She’d insisted she spent so much time in layers and layers of armor, she liked freedom when she didn’t have to wear it. And that made sense, but _damn,_ it was affecting his ability to concentrate on mission reports or really anything.   

Eleri grinned at the sensation as her gaze swept over where Joe lay curled next to her. He pressed a kiss against the red words that wound down her ribs, words that had been with her for years. Joe was propped on one elbow, his short hair a rumpled mess, and his lips moving as he silently read and re-read her, each quote punctuated with a soft, sweet kiss. For a man who regularly threw himself into his enemies with such brutal force, his touch could be surprisingly light and gentle.   

There were words, all colors and fonts, curling and arcing across Eleri’s body, following the lines of her musculature as she moved, almost as if they themselves were alive. She’d said that she collected quotes as mementos — reminders of things she wanted to become a part of her, and carry through life. Eleri made jokes about it, but she saw herself as a cobbled together, broken thing made out of bits and pieces she had managed to scavenge along the way. But to Joe, she was magnificent. All his life he had loved poetry, and here she was, quite literally covered in it. The words inked into her skin, forever part of her.  

Eleri yawned absently, stretching and curling her body in a movement that was vaguely cat-like. The words on her body danced, curling with her as she stretched, and arched her back. An involuntary, strangled-sounding noise tore itself free from Joe’s chest as he threw himself at her. Datapads with mission reports clattered uselessly onto the floor. 

* * *

 

**S.W.A.K.**

Joe was a light sleeper. When Eleri stirred beside him and woke in the morning, he woke. He woke in the middle of the night when she rolled over, and he woke when she had one of her dreams. He’d gotten used to her constant shifting, tossing and turning, and even her occasional kicking. It was worth it. He had her there beside him, rather than on the other side of the wall, and no amount of kicking could convince him he wasn’t getting the better part of that deal.  

Eleri tried not to disturb Joe when she woke, she knew he was a light sleeper. She kept very still, pretending she was still asleep as she tried to regulate her breathing. But even her stillness gave her away.   

Joe kept his eyes closed a few extra minutes, playing along as he enjoyed the simple feeling of having her next to him. It seemed like a little thing, but he knew it was huge to Eleri. Joe was acutely aware of her uncertainty and the way she braced herself for rejection. She had no understanding of her own worth, or what she meant to him. Eleri’s eyes would still widen when he asked her to stay or when he would reach out to hold on to her, as if the idea was something new and foreign to her.

  Eleri “woke” him with kisses that were light and hesitant, trailing across his jawline. Even after everything they had been through together, she was still unsure. When her light kisses reached his lips, he kissed back, inviting her closer as his eyes flew open, a smile on his lips.

  Her hair was a tousled mess, and the black eyeliner she had forgotten to wash off the night before had streaked down her face. She was lying propped up on one elbow, and wore only an oversized T-shirt…his shirt.   

“I love you”, the words tumbled from Joe’s lips drowsily, surprising them both. But Joe didn’t regret it, and he didn’t take it back. There was nothing sheepish in his expression as he pulled Eleri gently forward, to seal the sentiment with a kiss.


End file.
